Smartiest Persons: The Rebirth Crisis
} = Realm of Monsters|next_ } = The Pickett Misfortune}}Smartiest Persons: The Rebirth Crisis is a major event in the Smartiest Persons Universe. Taking place not too far after the Realm of Monsters story arc, Xiangwen Berry has been resurrected from the dead. This time, she turns to the Smartiest Persons for help finding out what was wrong with her. After careful research, the team of heroes find out that Xiangwen has the ability to resurrect the dead. But the President of the New United Nations, Darien Symeon, wants to use her powers to further his "questionable" second campaign. Cracking under the pressure of different sides wanting to gain from her abilities, Xiangwen accidentally unleashes the true potential of her power and resurrects previous SP villians. This leads to one of the Smartiest Persons' most dangerous battles, as they go face to face with not only their own foes of the past, but also some of history's most deadly scoundrels. Story Back to Life The Escape Back during the Knuaht Crisis several months ago, Xiangwen Berry had been killed while at a restaurant in London. Now, she's... alive? She doesn't know. All she knew was that the last thing she remembered was seeing a huge Krealheth attacking from the sky, and then darkness.... and then, light? And suddenly, she woke up in a strange room not unlike a prison cell and hospital room combined. At the door on the other side of the room stood two soldiers in white-and-gray armor. Suddenly, the door opened, and Darien Symeon walked through the door. He told her that his soldiers found her, somehow alive, even though Geraki had killed everyone in the vicinity of Big Ben. He wanted to find out how she came back from the dead, and weaponize it against the Smartiest Persons. But before he could say anything else, Nolan Hairr broke into the room. Symeon suddenly blasted a wave of Dark energy towards them. Nolan and Xiangwen both got away before Symeon and his soldiers could stop them, though. Too Many Questions Nolan and Xiangwen both immediately fled to Smartiest Persons HQ in Los Angeles, where SP was happy to see them ok. They explained what had happened to them, and it raised troubling questions. First, since when did Darien Symeon have superpowers?? Who were these strange soldiers that appeared to be loyal to him?? And how was Xiangwen alive?? Again?? To begin solving these problems, SP split into teams. The first team, comprised of Hailey, Nolan, and Lamas, would try and figure out where Symeon's private army came from. The second team, comprised of Paolo, Guerra, and Collin, would try and figure out how he had superpowers. The third team, comprised of Vincent, Logan, and Dillon, would try and figure out how Xiangwen came back to life. The Search for Answers Symeon's Private Army A Mysterious Name Team 1 (Hailey, Nolan, and Lamas) started their investigation by going to where Nolan and Xiangwen escaped captivity. They found the hidden bunker, but also found it empty. Symeon and his army had fled the bunker, leaving no evidence of their destination. Or so Symeon thought. In one of the bunker's room, they found some abandoned mail (strange, since no one uses mail anymore) with the name "An___w B__nar_" on it. It had scorch marks on it, which led Nolan to deduce that someone had tried to burn it, like they had all the other evidence in the bunker. They left the bunker, now trying to find the mysterious "An___w B__nard_"... Only Relative They tracked down the name to the city Scranton, Pennsylvania. They found that the person's full name was Andrew Bernard. He used to run a paper company in Scranton, but no longer was. They asked him who could've been sending mail to him, and he replied that it was probably his step-brother, Robbie McIntire. They thanked Andy, and left to try and find Robbie. The Past... They couldn't find a location, but they found out a little about his past. Robbie had grown up with Andy, his step-brother, and he went into the military after college. He excelled in that, and became one of the top soldiers in the Navy SEALS. But one day, he went missing, and was presumed dead. It took a while for Nolan and Hailey to track down what happened after that. From eyewitness accounts and near-destroyed security camera recordings, they pieced together how Robbie went off the grid: He could control the grid. It appeared that he had the power of Technopathy, and could control all machinery and technology. Finding out what happened next was a lot more difficult, and required the tracking of bank transfers and black market dealings. They discovered that with the funding of Darien Symeon, Robbie built McIntire International, a private military group willing to fight for whoever had the most money. They finally had the truth. Dark Origins An Old Enemy Team 2 (Paolo, Guerra, and Collin) started their investigation by figuring out what sort of superpowers Symeon has. From Nolan and Xiangwen's descriptions, he appears to be able to channel a mild form of the Dark. With this knowledge, they decide to seek knowledge from one of the most powerful Dark-users in the universe: Roodfire. A New Ally They traveled to Planet Rood, and successfully convinced atmospheric patrol to let them land. They were met at the Planet Rood spaceport by Nevaeh. She asked them why they were there, and when they revealed their quest, she agreed to help them. They were confused at first, since they were seeking Roodfire's help, but then she told them that Roodfire had been banished to The Void two years ago after she overthrew him, and she had taken over the Roodinites. She told them that she was now more powerful than Roodfire, and could help them better than him. They agreed, and she took them to a Roodinite lab deep below Planet Rood's main fortress. A New Alliance In the lab, Nevaeh showed them a super-serum that she'd been working on; one that would give the user access to the near-limitless power of The Dark. The project had been shut down, as it gave users too much access to the Dark, and it always consumed the user, leaving a soulless body possessed by the Dark itself. She'd lost too many Roodinites to it, so she shut it down. But a couple weeks ago, a squad of elite soldiers wearing white-and-gray armor had broken into the lab and stolen one of the last remaining samples of it. With that knowledge, SP had their answer, so they began to leave. But before they did, Nevaeh stopped them. She told them that she had never really agreed with Roodfire's methods, and wanted a formal alliance with Earth and the Smartiest Persons. Paolo gladly signed a treaty with her, and the two races were no longer at war. The Resurrection Enigma Blood of Darkness Team 3 (Vincent and Dillon) were trying to find out how Xiangwen had come back to life. They began their search by investigating the original scene of the crime. So they went to London. Even though the destruction had taken place 4 months ago, and London had been almost completely rebuilt, that one spot still wasn't repaired. They investigated, and found trace elements of Krealheth blood. They would need someone really smart that could figure out the secrets of the strange blood.. New Recruit Dillon had just the person. A few weeks ago, a doctor that was injured in a hospital explosion exhibited the powerful ability to heal any injury, and healed everyone in the hospital he was in. Vincent asked what the person's name was, and Dillon replied: "Tim Fischer". They went to the hospital, which was in Carson City, Nevada, and found Tim there. They recruited him to the Smartiest Persons, with the promise that he would be able to research and create cures for diseases that were previously thought incurable. At SP HQ in Los Angeles, Tim examined the Krealheth blood, and found traces of Dark energy within it. That explained why Xiangwen suddenly had the ability to resurrect from the dead. The only question was if that was her only new ability... Rebirth Reunion The three groups met back up at Smartiest Persons HQ, and compared their findings. Darien Symeon appeared to be behind McIntire International, but even stranger was how the Dark appeared to be behind it all. Paolo questioned aloud what the Dark even was. They'd only ever glimpsed it seven years ago, when Greg fell under it's influence, and yet it seemed to be behind so many of the threats they'd faced since then. Lamas mentioned that Greg was still in cryostasis, and a cure for the White Flame hadn't been found yet. Tim Fischer replied, saying that maybe he could heal the White Flame. The rest of SP agreed that he should try, but there were more pressing matters at the moment. The discussion grew more heated, as people couldn't decide how to proceed next. Old Enemies Reborn Suddenly, Dark energy filled the room. Xiangwen was using her powers somehow! SP didn't know what to do, but before they could decide anything at all, the power disappeared completely. Tim and other SP scientists searched the entire SP base for any remaining Dark energy, but found none. Xiangwen had no more powers. But before she lost them, she used them to cause events that would forever change the universe. Across the world, across the universe, ancient villains were resurrected. In Germany, the being known as Rudefire, the first-ever Roodfire, came back to life within the Rood Temples. Donovan Johnston III and 'IV, along with thousands of other Gavinites, resurrect from death, ready to conquer Earth. In the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, Logan Clone awakens from death. And on a long-forgotten planet far in the unexplored regions of the universe, the most despicable villain of them all is revived from death. Roodfire Awakens Roodfire woke up on the planet-with-no-name. Well, it does have a name. In fact, it has many. Vormir, The Void, Purgatory. But when it comes down to it, all of its names are short-lived, and known only by a few. Two years ago, when Nevaeh overthrew him and took over the Roodinites, she banished him here. He'd tried to survive for as long as he could, and if it was any other planet, he probably could have, but this place was unlike any other. It had strange properties. No matter the power one held, it always managed to take your life, and in the most painful ways. Roodfire had survived two weeks. But now, two years later, he was somehow alive. He had to find a way to survive, and fast. He saw a streak of light up in the always-night sky, and realized that it was coming this way. A savior, perhaps? Maybe Nevaeh was responsible for his resurrection, and was coming to get him. But as it approached, he realized that it was a Knuaht ship. He'd learned of the Knuaht while he was king of Planet Rood; some of the Roodinites had heard the stories from space traders. This was good. They were a semi-nomadic race with no real leader. That second thing wouldn't last for long... World in Chaos Broadcast to the World The relative peace that Earth had came to an end just hours after the Great Rebirth. Two of the Smartiest Persons' villains just came back from the dead, along with two more that they'd never even faced. And on top of that, Symeon was ready to reveal to the world that he had been a villain the entire time. 3 hours after the Rebirth, all screens on the planet turned off, and then turned on to Symeon's face. SP now knew that it was Robbie behind that particular trick, but didn't have time to think about it. Symeon began a long speech, where he revealed that he had been behind LOVA. He was the bank account that Big Baby used to fight SP and Roodfire. He, a supervillain, had run the planet itself for years, and he used his power to prepare for this moment. For a brief moment, it seemed like he was speaking directly to the Smartiest Persons as he explained that he was the one that set off Xiangwen's Dark Rebirth power, and he was responsible for the evil that was just unleashed. Speaking to the world again, he said that McIntire International had, over the past few years, infiltrated most national governments, building outposts near key cities. It was best not to resist, because they were the superior army, and led by the newly resurrected villains, they'd be unstoppable.... Contingency Plan The Smartiest Persons immediately sprung into action. At the beginning of previous wars, they hadn't been prepared, and always ended up the underdog. But they'd learned from their mistakes, and had contingencies prepared now. First, they launched their forces. Gone were the days of having only hundreds of SP soldiers. They now had nearly 100,000 soldiers at their disposal. The SP army split up into groups, which went to key locations around the world: New York, London, Egypt, Berlin, Hong Kong, New Delhi, and Rio. From there, they began filtering through the continents they were in, setting up defenses. Next was the city shields. They'd had a bit of a problem with cities getting destroyed before, so they'd invented shield generators powerful enough to guard entire cities. These were both energy-consuming and expensive, however, so they were only set up around five of the most important and populated cities in the world. Finally, the SP leadership itself sprung into action. This wasn't the government of some country, where its leaders stayed in the safety of their own territory. These were the Smartiest Persons. They led the battles to save the world. They started going to where they predicted the major battles would be, setting up outposts and preparing for the oncoming war. Even Tim Fischer joined the fight and got his own mech-suit, custom-built by SP scientists. Brotherhood of the Dark While the Smartiest Persons acted under the impression that this would be a war against an army of mortals, as the Trinity War and the wars before that were, Darien Symeon wasn't a fool. He knew what the real goal was, and the Smartiest Persons wouldn't find out until it was too late. He went to his primary Earth base, located inside a mountain in the Alps, and started sending out a signal. It was a signal playing over invisible wavelengths, only visible to those with access to the Dark. Within a few hours, Rudefire and Logan Clone showed up. A few hours after that, both Donovans arrived in Gavinite ships. Roodfire never showed up. And someone else showed up. Someone who hadn't just been resurrected... Symeon told everyone there that through the guidance of the Dark, he had been able to bring them all back. The Dark had tasked them with bringing the universe to its knees, so that it could successfully escape its Dark Prison. With that goal, they became a new iteration of the organization that had always served The Dark. At one point, it was the Disciples of the Nebula. Then, it was the Roodfire Clan. Now? They were the Brotherhood of the Dark. The Facade of War The Battle of Berlin The Smartiest Persons were surprised when all their preparation appeared to be for nothing. Over the next few weeks, only a few battles were fought, and McIntire International only won half of them. But then, the war truly began. The battle began as a small skirmish in Berlin between SP and McIntire I.N. But just as SP started winning, dozens of Gavinite ships descended from the sky. Symeon had lost those battles on purpose! It was a trap! Facing the combined might of McIntire I.N. ''and the Gavinite hordes, SP completely lost the battle. Berlin went up in flames. After the battle, SP found the forests around Berlin scorched. After scanning, they found dozens of clusters of temples. Nolan investigated them, but couldn't find anything; the Brotherhood of the Dark must've already stolen whatever was inside them. Government in Shambles Over the next few months, SP struggled to keep Earth safe. Their army, combined with the rest of the world's armies, were a formidable force, but the Brotherhood of the Dark had prepared well, and so the two sides were evenly matched. One of SP's major goals was making sure the world could defend itself, since SP was strong, but it couldn't protect everyone at once. They began dismantling the NUN. It ended up only being a powerless symbol of Symeon's true power anyway, so they began distributing it's power back to the world's national governments. Beyond Earth Earth wasn't the Brotherhood's only target like SP thought. While SP was occupied on Earth, Symeon began invading other planets, conquering more and more, creating the perfect habitat for the Dark Entity's return. Most planets were powerless against the Brotherhood. Few had superhero groups like SP, and none were as powerful as SP. But eventually, the Brotherhood reached a planet that could fight back, and could fight back as well as Earth... The Army of the Light '''Rood Under Siege Nevaeh had heard about the Brotherhood's attack on Earth, of course. And since they had an alliance, she even felt obligated to help SP. But she had problems of her own. Since the Great Rebirth, Roodinites had begun disappearing. It had begun slowly, only one or two a week, but now it was a over a dozen every few days. She didn't know what to do, or how to help her people. But then, the Brotherhood attacked. With a face to put the blame, the Roodinites were ready to fight. And fight they did. But the Brotherhood's forces were strong, and it slowly became less of an even match and more of a planetary siege. Light and Dark At the point where it seemed like she was going to lose the battle, the Brotherhood was suddenly attacked from behind. Was it SP somehow? No. It was an army cloaked entirely in pure Light. At first, Nevaeh was beyond grateful that someone was helping, but then she realized that she got her powers directly from the Dark, and would probably be an enemy of this army, which was made entirely from light. But no. The Roodinite army and Army of the Light defeated the Brotherhood, and the leader of the Army of the Light teleported to Planet Rood's surface. He introduced himself as The Guy, the one who had defended the universe from the Dark for almost an eternity. The Army of the Light was a secret organization, founded on the principles sparked by the Noble Rebellion a millenia ago. Now, The Guy led the Army of the Light to fight those who sought to bring about the return of The Dark. Nevaeh asked why she wasn't an enemy, since she harnessed the Dark, to which The Guy replied that while she harnessed evil powers, she was on the Side of Light, unlike Roodfire. And now, they must go help the Smartiest Persons. Victory Against the Brotherhood Defeat of the Gavinites The Guy and Nevaeh's first act in helping save the Smartiest Persons was stopping the Gavinites. Before they arrived on Earth, SP could hold it's own against McIntire I.N. So Army of the Light and Roodinites, Light and Dark, traveled to Gavinonea, where the Donovans commanded the Gavinite forces. After a long battle, they broke through the Gavinite defenses. The two Donovans put up a good fight, but Nevaeh easily killed them both (The Guy refrained from fighting, as he had to stay out of matters not directly related to The Dark). With them dead, the Gavinite forces on Earth floundered, and soon died off; the Gavinites were genocided for the third time. Defection Back on Earth, the Smartiest Persons have been doing well. Since the Gavinites ceased being a threat, SP has been able to win more than a few victories against the Brotherhood of the Dark. And during their last big attack, they learned where McIntire I.N.'s primary base was. If they successfully took out Robbie's operation, Symeon would be almost powerless. So SP attacked the base; Paolo and Vincent led the attack (the other SP leaders were busy defending other cities around the world). They easily broke through the base's defenses, since even though Robbie's soldiers had high-end equipment, the Silver Knight suit and Red Wing suit were much more powerful. At the core of the base, they found Robbie, Logan Clone, and... Logan himself? Yes, Logan. When Symeon revealed his evil to the world, he had Logan transferred to McIntire I.N.'s custody, and SP hadn't been able to find him in any NUN prison. And now, they'd found him, in a solitary cell. While fighting the normal foot-soldiers had been easy, Robbie was a much more formidable foe. He had control over electricity itself, and having electronic mech-suits wasn't ideal when fighting a technopath. On top of that, Logan Clone was in the fight too. Paolo and Vincent fought as well as they could, but ended up being defeated. But as they were put into the prison cell with Logan, Vincent started talking to them. He explained how truly evil Symeon was, and how he'd toss them away as soon as he conquered the world. He told them about their pasts, and how they used to be and still had the potential to be heroes. The speech got to them, and both Robbie and Logan Clone defected to the Smartiest Persons. The Battle Against Symeon Unfortunately, Robbie's private army didn't feel the same way as him, and remained loyal to Symeon. But Robbie himself had a lot of info about Symeon's operations, including the location of his primary base. As the Smartiest Persons prepared for the attack, Nevaeh and the Guy finally arrived on Earth, making the forces fighting against Symeon even larger. With an army this large, Symeon stood no chance at all. They all made their way to Symeon's base in the Alps, only to find Rudefire,the Brotherhood army (formerly McIntire I.N. army), and the remains of the Gavinites standing outside of it. Rudefire was far more powerful than any of the other leaders of the Brotherhood of the Dark, and defeating him wouldn't be easy. Roodfire Arrives Before the huge army could attack Rudefire, the true, modern Roodfire arrived on Earth. While all the others had been fighting amongst themselves, Roodfire had been hiding. Preparing. He'd used the Dark to take control over the Knuaht's simple minds, and sent them to capture Roodinites from his former dominion. He used the Knuaht's Krealheth technology to create new, more powerful minions called the Knuaht-Rood Horde. He'd built up that army while the false herald, Symeon, tried to accomplish what only Roodfire could. And now, Roodfire was ready, and he was going to start by killing the so-called original Roodfire, Rudefire. Symeon's End Roodfire charged at Rudefire. Rudefire smiled arrogantly, and fired Dark energy at his successor. Roodfire absorbed the energy, and fired it back. In a fight that lasted about 20 seconds, Roodfire dodged every single attack Rudefire threw, and returned them. After those 20 seconds were up, Rudefire was dead, again. Paolo began to thank Roodfire for the help, but in seconds, Roodfire had flown into Symeon's compound, and flew out seconds later holding Symeon. Roodfire screamed at the Brotherhood soldiers: "IS THIS YOUR LEADER??!!?", and then threw Symeon into the atmosphere, where he died. Roodfire told the former Brotherhood soldiers that they now served him, and they quickly agreed, not wanting to be next. Paolo angrily told Roodfire that he hadn't changed at all since the Trinity War, to which Roodfire agreed. And thus, the second Great War began. The Second Great War Battle Between Nations Thus began one of the shortest (but one of the most brutal) wars in history. On one side, the Army of Light, the Smartiest Persons, and Nevaeh's Roodinites. On the other side, the Brotherhood Army, the few remaining Gavinites, and the Knuaht-Rood Horde. It was a battle between armies never imagined before. Soldiers from a private army no longer loyal to their boss. An army of fallen angels committed to defending the Light. A race of Dark beings fighting for the Light. A horde of beings forged by one with power over the Darkness. A race resurrected from the dead, and again brought to near-extinction. And the Smartiest Persons. The people that fight to protect those who can't protect themselves. The Battle Rages On The battle begun, and it continued on for days. This wasn't a minor skirmish. This was a battle between those trying to protect humanity, and a madman committed only to spreading darkness. Nevaeh and the Smartiest Persons sought to protect their own soldiers, often leading the charge, while Roodfire seemed content to let his hordes run to their deaths. At one point, Nevaeh was fighting Roodfire, and as they fought, Roodfire asked her why she betrayed him. She only replied that he had grown too power-hungry, and too committed to evil, instead of protecting the Roodinites. At another point in the fight, Logan and Logan Clone were fighting together, even though they were formerly enemies. But Logan Clone died in the battle, and it never happened again. Unwilling Betrayal Near the end of the battle, Lamas and Vincent were surrounded by Knuaht-Rood, when all of a sudden, Lamas leapt out of the circle, leaving Vincent alone. Vincent, yelling above the battle, asked Lamas why he left. Lamas, as if under a trance, replied that he must serve the Dark, and then he went to go join Roodfire in killing a group of Roodinites. Yes. Lamas was a traitor the whole time, and he didn't even know it. Because back when Symeon sent out the Dark signal summoning the resurrected villains, Lamas had picked up on the signal with his Dark Devine powers, and it possessed him, making him a servant of the Dark. He'd been feeding Symeon information since then. Final Victory As the fight raged on, the size of the armies dwindled. Soon, they were only a third of the size they were when the battle started. Paolo saw Roodfire across the battlefield, and charged towards him. Roodfire saw, and did the same. This was the first time they'd fought during this battle. This battle was between the two leaders of each side. It was between those whose rivalry had lasted for years. And the fight was pretty short. As they fought, Paolo asked Roodfire why he kept insisting on fighting endlessly, even when they had achieved peace before. Roodfire replied that he didn't really know; The Dark within him just kept feeding him feelings of anger and the need for revenge. The fight continued, and eventually, Paolo won. Roodfire, completely defeated, said that he was done fighting. He was done constantly trying to take over Earth. He was done. His armies surrendered, and the second Great War ended. Aftermath With the war over, the world had a lot of problems to deal with: it's entire government had collapsed, and it had to safely transition back to national forms of government. Nevaeh and the Roodinites returned to Planet Rood, where they too had to rebuild their planet. Roodfire wasn't pardoned of his crimes, but was given a relatively obscure, far-away planet where he could rule over the remaining Knuaht-Rood and not get into trouble. The Gavinites weren't going anywhere, since the few remaining Gavinites were killed during the attle, and were extinct again. Most of the Brotherhood soldiers went to prison, though a few were pardoned. Robbie joined SP. And before The Guy and the Army of Light left, he told SP that the Dark was not yet defeated, and would return... Continued in Smartiest Persons: The Pickett Misfortune. Category:Story Arcs